Sharing the Load

SPECIAL TO OCALA STYLE

Service is key. Just ask Brian Roaderick, co-owner of Bobcat & Kubota of Ocala.

“The first step to being successful in business is to treat your customers with respect,” he says.

This desire to provide customers with superior service led to the opening of Bobcat & Kubota’s new location on West State Road 40.

“We started in 1998 as Bobcat in a very small building on 441,” Brian recalls. “In 2002, we purchased the Kubota tractor dealership and merged the two together.”

The newly formed Bobcat & Kubota of Ocala spent a short time at a downtown Ocala location before growing pains initiated the need for a bigger facility. Now located on a three-acre tract just past I-75 in a sprawling 15,000 square foot building, Bobcat & Kubota not only has enough room to serve its clients efficiently and effectively, but also now has room to grow.

The expansion is worth noting. Recently, the team added a full-service rental program to better accommodate customers’ needs for temporary equipment usage.

“And to think all of this started with a handshake between Dick Kingsland and myself,” Brian says. “I was contacted by Dick who already owned stores in Tampa and Orlando. At the time, I was running another construction equipment company as a competitor.”

The two entrepreneurs merged forces and created what would eventually become Bobcat & Kubota of Ocala. Three short months after their Ocala store opened, Dick suffered a stroke and his son, Rick, took over the business. Brian and Rick have been going strong ever since.

As compact equipment specialists, Bobcat & Kubota of Ocala offers its customers two complete lines of small construction equipment including track loaders, excavators, mowers, tractors, and skid-steers, complete with all the accessories. And that’s just to name a few.

“Bobcat was the first and is the largest manufacturer of skid-steer loaders,” Brian says. “The skid-steer loader is a compact machine that gets the job done.”

Basically a hydraulic pump on wheels, the skid-steer is a convenient, yet powerful, piece of machinery that offers more than 50 attachments to complete an endless variety of jobs. The Kubota product lineup ranges from lawn tractors and zero turn mowers, to 125 horse power tractors, excavators, and wheel loaders.

Yet, a high-quality product is only a fraction of the equation when it comes to customer satisfaction. Service and reliability at Bobcat & Kubota of Ocala is second-to-none. With full-service parts and service departments on site, the friendly professionals at Bobcat & Kubota have most every customer’s machinery needs met. And then some.

“Each technician is factory trained and attends yearly classes to better serve our clients,” Brian says. “They’re also cross-trained to work on all of our machines.”

The service and parts departments are fully computer integrated to allow for easy communication between the local office and the corporate headquarters of Bobcat & Kubota.

To provide the utmost in customer convenience, Brian and Rick have implemented a road service department, too.

“The techs will come to a home or business to do preventative maintenance and repairs,” Brian says. “We’ll even dispose of the oil and the old parts.”

That’s the kind of friendly treatment the customers of Bobcat & Kubota have come to know and appreciate over the years. A native Ocalan at heart, Brian understands the importance of giving back to the community that supports them.

Each year for the annual Dozer Days event, Bobcat & Kubota transports more than 10 pieces of heavy equipment to the festival for play and educational uses for children. Another special touch is the community bulletin board prominently displayed near the entrance to Bobcat & Kubota — it’s an outlet for customers and clients to advertise services and needs to one another.

“We’re a very family- and community-oriented staff,” Brian acknowledges. “I think I give more toys away to area children than I sell.”

Bobcat & Kubota of Ocala

5211 W. Silver Springs Blvd.

Ocala, FL 34482

(352) 368-2400

(800) 269-7575

Posted in Ocala Style Promotional Features

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